WOMAN AND THE NEW RACE

BY

MARGARET SANGER

[1920]

Margaret Sanger wrote this book in 1920 at the high water mark of
the first wave of feminism. Women in the United States could now vote, own
property, acquire higher education, and many other rights won
through hard struggle. Sanger saw a woman's right to control
her own body (specifically her reproductive system) as the next big goal.
It took more than forty years before a new wave of feminism,
along with advances in medical technology, made this attainable.

Of course, this is still the fault-line which runs through the
topic of women and religion. The themes which Sanger raises in
this book still arouse vehement debate, and pertain to contemporary
issues which would have seemed unimaginable to Sanger, such
as human cloning and stem-cell research.

Some of the language in this book
may mystify or confuse contemporary readers.
When she speaks of a 'New Race' she means the improvement of the
human species in general. She occasionally uses arguments similar to the
Eugenics movement (which was later embraced by the Nazis).
This has been used as ammunition by some opposed to
women's reproductive rights, and several misleading quotes either
taken out of context or completely fabricated have been
attributed to her in an attempt to demonize her.
This is a disservice and dishonors Sangers' legacy.

Sanger later denounced the Eugenics movement.
Her books were among the first burned by the Nazis.
She also personally helped several Jewish women
and men escape Nazi Germany.
Sanger was about as far from a reactionary as could be
imagined--note her opposition to militarism,
her ardent feminism and activism on behalf of working-class women,
her support for labor and the rights of immigrants, all of which
she makes clear in this book.
She opened clinics in Harlem to bring health services to the
African American community, and worked closely with
such African American activists as W.E.B. DuBois and Adam Clayton Powell.
In 1966, the year Sanger died, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said:

There is a striking kinship between our movement and
Margaret Sanger's early efforts. . . . Our sure beginning in
the struggle for equality by nonviolent direct action may not
have been so resolute without the tradition established by
Margaret Sanger and people like her.

Sanger's opposition to abortion
has to be considered in the light of the reality of
pre-Roe v. Wade 'back-alley' abortion, which often had fatal
or harmful side-effects.
She states that she would not be opposed to abortion if it
could be performed safely.

Sangers' transcendent (and very spiritual) vision of women
and humanity in general free from the shackles of sexual
repression and endless child-bearing
is impressive, and overwhelms the shortcomings of this book.
-- jbh